Foles goes from contemplating retirement to brink of Super Bowl
PHILADELPHIA » Two years ago, Nick Foles almost retired from pro football.
Two weeks ago, there were Eagles fans who wished he had.
Foles’ struggles late in the regular season made critics debate the alternative, Nate Sudfeld. When Doug Pederson shot that down, Foles became the reason the Eagles were the first No. 1 seed with six Pro Bowl players to enter the playoffs as underdogs.
Outdueling Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Hawks in the divisional round has turned Foles into a folk hero. The Eagles’ first playoff victory in four years has given fans just enough hope to dream of a triumphant encore Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field.
One more win and the Eagles pack their stuff for Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, where former Foles’ Rams teammate, and current Vikings starting quarterback Case Keenum resides. Small football world.
“It’s pretty wild, absolutely,” Foles said Wednesday. “We were on the same team not too many years ago. I’ve said over and over again, Case’s success and the way he plays doesn’t surprise me because him and I were together, and we prepared together. We were around each other every day. But I think the big message there is no matter what happens, you’ve just got to keep believing in yourself, keep working hard and just never give up.”
The Eagles operate the same way. But rolling with Foles after Carson Wentz exited with a knee injury 13 games into a Pro Bowl season was a hard sell. Foles isn’t nearly as inspirational or talented, although collecting that fumble inside the five-yard line and diving toward the goal line against the Falcons last week was Carsonesque.
The change in quarterbacks is noticeable even during warmups. Watching Wentz warm up is like taking in the Step Curry pre-game show, which anyone who’s seen it says it’s worth the price of admission.
Watching Foles throw the ball around makes you feel that pain in your rotator you were supposed to have the orthopedist check, the back ache you let go or the numbness in your hand.
CBS TV color analyst Tony Romo, who quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to the playoffs multiple times, was asked to break down the division round performance of his former NFC East opponent.
“I think with Nick, what you’re seeing is a little bit of him getting the rust off from when he first started playing,” Romo said. “And when you’re playing in these cold temperatures, you’re going to find it difficult to score a lot of points. One third-down pass, the quarterback’s inaccurate, a guy gets beat up front and it’s a little bit harder ball and it doesn’t travel quite as far, it can make both teams get a lot tighter.
“So, in Nick’s case I think he’s gotten better. And I think they’re trying to figure out exactly what they have to do to be successful.”
The Vikings know everything they need to know about Keenum, who has quarterbacked them to a 12-3 record, including that walk-off victory over the New Orleans Saints Sunday night. Keenum hooked up with Stefon Diggs for a 61-yard scoring play.
“I would say Pat Shurmur really has done a great job of allowing Case to use his legs,” Romo said. “It shows you what a good coordinator can do of setting someone up to have success. For Case’s situation he’s really played some outstanding football. He’s not just a caretaker per se. He’s actually played and won games. I mean, you saw last week. If the quarterback doesn’t put that ball up - I understand the situation with the tackle and a lot of things went wrong - but you’ve still got to put that ball high, outside and in a spot that allows the receiver to catch it under duress at the end of a football game.
“So, I think he’s shown he can play especially when he has a defense that can put him in a good situation.”
The Eagles are 3½-point underdogs to the Vikings, who are seeking to become the first dome team to win a conference championship playing a road game outdoors. It gets weirder.
The backup for the Vikings is Sam Bradford. When Chip Kelly was head coach of the Eagles, he shipped Foles and draft picks to the Rams for Bradford, who was traded to the Vikings after the Eagles moved up in the 2016 draft to select Wentz.
“It’s definitely crazy,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. “These past five years since I’ve been here, the quarterback room has been kind of a shuffleboard, per se. It’s kind of been in and out and when Nick got traded for Sam, obviously everyone was shocked. And when we drafted Carson and then Sam got traded, everyone was shocked.”
The shock is over, both from the injury to Wentz and the acceptance of Foles as the caretaker of the Eagles’ offense.
And remember, the Eagles wouldn’t be in this position if Foles retired after his unfulfilling 2015 season.
“I talked a lot to my wife and I remember just saying a prayer, I literally said a prayer and like I said, my heart said go back,” Foles said. “At that moment, it was going to back to play for Coach Reid, and when I did, you know, I am a better person because of that decision. It wasn’t an easy decision. It’s not like it was 100 percent but my faith and my guidance and the way I felt like going into that experience allowed me to grow to make me a better player now.
“And I’m very grateful I made the decision I did — and we made.”